Wings of Fire- Moonwatcher's Story
by o0 GingerCat 0o
Summary: The second book of "Winter's adventure". It is the continued adventure in the perspective of Moonwatcher. She and the two Icewing brothers Winter and Hailstorm get lost in a maze of underground tunnels, where they uncover a secret that may threaten all dragon kind. (Unfinished)
1. Chapter 1 - The chase

Moonwatcher wings were starting to ache. Winter, her, and Hailstorm had been flying for at least two hours now, in pursuit of Snowfall, Winter and Hailstorm's sister. It was only then that Snowfall stopped, in a desert near the Sandwing town, and landed.

Winter signaled for them to hide behind a large rock. Moonwatcher peeked behind it to look at Snowfall. Her belly lurched when she realized Snowfall was staring right back at her. She froze, and pulled her head back to the others.

"She saw me!" She whisper-shouted.

"Then let's just get her!" Winter said. Before moon could object, he launched himself out from the shelter of the rock and landed on Snowfall.

Moonwatcher and Hailstorm followed him from behind the rock.

To her surprise, Snowfall hadn't moved!

"She won't move," Winter reported, a hint of worry in his voice.

"She's as solid as a _rock!_" Hailstorm exclaimed when he tried to lift her talon.

Moonwatcher slid the skyfire bracelet off her arm so she could read Snowfall's thoughts.

_I'm not so sure about that!_ She heard Snowfall think in fury, _I have captured a mind-reading Nightwing! Don't you DARE say I am insignificant!_

"It seems like she's having a telepathic conversation with someone in her head!" She told the boys, "She says that she has 'captured a mind-reading Nightwing', I think she means me…" Moon trailed off, wondering what it could mean. Winter looked puzzled and Hailstorm seemed deep in thought.

Moon turned her attention back to Snowfall's thoughts.

_Oh, young one_, _do you really expect me to believe such a thing?_ Rumbled a voice, _Come to me so we can have a REAL conversation! Go through The Tunnel of Rushed Water and meet me in the Moon Cave._

_FINE,_ responded Snowfall.

"Hide!" Moonwatcher hissed to the others, "I'll explain later!"

Wide-eyed, Winter, Hailstorm, and Moon all slipped back behind the rock.

Snowfall snapped out of the strange trance, looked around, and took flight again.

"That was _close_," Winter breathed.

Moonwatcher slipped her skyfire bracelet back on.

"She's meeting someone at a place I have never heard of… Do you think we should still follow h-"

"All the more reason we should find out what she's doing!" Winter interrupted, "What was the place called?" he asked impatiently.

Moonwatcher felt a prick of annoyance, "He said,'go through the tunnel of rushed water and meet me in the moon cave.' He sounds like trouble, Winter!"

"I think we should follow her," Hailstorm said suddenly.

"Yeah, she's getting away! Besides, how bad can it be?"

Moon sighed, "Aright, let's go."

She leaped into the sky after Snowfall, making sure the glittery icewing didn't look back. _She looks like snow! I guess I don't blend into the dessert too well myself, _She thought, looking at her black talons. If only she were a Sandwing right now! Sandwings were made for the dessert, their sandy-looking scales perfect camouflage, they could also survive the heat!

She glanced back at Winter and Hailstorm. _We could all use some camouflage,_ she thought. Then an idea struck her- the sand!

Moonwatcher flicked her tail for the others to follow her, and dove down.

"What?" Winter hissed impatiently.

"Have one of you seen any water?" She asked.

Hailstorm noded, "I could hear running water up ahead- it's probably a little stream. Are you thirsty? I brought some water for the way if you want it."

"No, but we should get wet and roll in the sand so we have some camouflage!" She said.

"What? I don't want that stuff in between my scales!" Winter cried.

Hailstorm hushed him by putting a tail over his mouth, "Good idea, Moon. It would hide our scales so much better!" He turned to Winter, "You don't want her to see us, do you?"

Winter shook his head, "Let's just make it quick," he grumbled.

...

The three of them flew low to sand, and when Snowfall glanced back, she didn't seem to notice them.

"This was easier than I thought," Winter commented on her left.

"Yeah, and a lot faster when you don't have to get cover every two seconds!" Hailstorm agreed behind him, following Winter's tail.

"Maybe keep it down?" Moon said, "We aren't that far behind her. Let's plan instead."

"Yeah, like what to do if she _does_ see us," Hailstorm said.

"Lost of that kind of stuff depends on how she reacts, though," she argued.

"Oh, I think I know how she would react," Winter muttered darkly, "but what will we do when we get to this 'tunnel of rushed water'?"

"It sounds like it's dark," Moon said.

"And wet!" Hailstorm added.

"And a tunnel," He snorted.

Suddenly, Winter's head snapped up, "She's landing."

"We will wait for her to go into the tunnel, then count about 20 seconds for lag time, and follow her," Moonwatcher explained.

"Okay," Winter agreed.

Moon's talons hit the soft sand silently. She relaxed a little from the warmth that radiated from it, but still stayed low. The hot, barren desert was melting away to a lush forest. She noticed heavy rain clouds forming overhead, _Desserts don't get much rain_, she thought.

Near a tree, she spotted Snowfall's long tail disappearing into a hole with tufts of grass around it. After a few moments, Moonwatcher crept forward and peered into it. The tunnel was deep and she couldn't see the bottom, nor did she see Snowfall. It almost went straight down, but slanted slightly.

"We can go down if we go slowly," She said, "It's steep, but you can grip the sides."

"Okay," Hailstorm nodded.

"Moon, your the only one of us who can breath fire, could you light the way?" Winter asked.

"I think it would be better if we stuck to the shadows," She replied.

Winter looked at him with sympathy, then turned to Moon, "I'll go first," he declared. Winter made his way down the tunnel, and Moon stuck her tail out for Hailstorm to follow.

As she made her way down, she slipped a few times, but the tunnel soon started going straight forward. Moonwatcher couldn't see anything in the darkness, but there was something else. This kind of darkness didn't just mean she couldn't see, but it overwhelmed her. She felt trapped in the narrow, musty, stone walls. Moon felt as though the blackness was pressing on her scales. Even the sandy floor of the tunnel was cold.

The tunnel turned many times, and Moon tried to keep track.

_Left, right, right, left, up, left, down..._

"I hear water," Hailstorm said suddenly.

Moonwatcher pricked her ears, _Is that a river?_

Winter stopped in front of her, "I don't think it's up ahead."

The water was not rushing, but when she strained to listen, she heard.

_Tick… tink…_

The noise grew louder and harder, seeming to come muffled from the dirt above her head.

It seemed that at that moment, they all realized the same thing at once.

There had been rain clouds when they went into the tunnels.

It was raining on the surface, and the water would flood into the tunnels…

With them in it.


	2. Chapter 2 - Underground

Moonwatcher's heart raced. She felt Winter rush ahead of her yelling, "Run!"

Moon followed him, Hailstorm hard on her tail.

Suddenly, without warning, the sand dropped away from under her talons. Moon spread her wings in panic, but she could not open them, for the sharp rocks on her sides cut them. She was falling, falling, falling into the abyss.

Moonwatcher braced herself to land on rocks, or Winter, or sand. An icy wind was battering her face as she fell. _HELP!_ She thought desperately.

Over the wind, she could hear Hailstorm and Winter screaming, until she heard Winter's cry abruptly stop, followed by a splash.

_He hit water,_ she realized, _there's an underground river! _At that same moment, everything became muffled, and she felt cold water running in between her scales, washing away all the sand on her.

The current rushed Moonwatcher forward, she desperately flailed her arms, trying to steady herself. _I'm going to drown! _

She banged her head against a rock, sending alarm shooting through her head, then passed out.

****

**...  
**

Her muscles screamed with pain, and her head throbbed. Something hard fell down on her chest, and she vomited water.

Moonwatcher opened her heavy eyelids, which only revealed blurred white figures. She gasped for air, taking it in gulps.

Someone seemed to say something, but it was muffled from the water in her ears. She felt wet and cold, and let out a groan.

Her vision cleared, revealing Winter. She was lying on sand in a cavern and Winter stood over her, "Are you okay?"

"No…" she mumbled, "everything hurts."

Moon managed to shift into a more comfortable sitting position, gazing around the cave. It was very wide, with torches placed on the walls. _Torches?_ How were there torches? Icewing didn't have fire, and she had been asleep. She saw Hailstorm curled up in a corner on some moss, which was tangled in his tail. She also realized that she, too, had moss carefully placed on the spot where she had hit her head in the river. The moss was soaking the blood and acting as a bandage. _Winter must have done that,_ she thought.

"Torches? Wood?" She began.

"They were there when we got here," Winter replied.

Moonwatcher realized with a jolt that she could still hear water. Looking behind her, she saw the firelight reflecting off of a pool of water with small waves lapping the sandy bank. _We must have washed ashore,_ she thought.

"Is Hailstorm asleep?" She asked.

"Yes, I think we should all rest before we go on, though," Winter said.

Moon flopped back onto the sand, "Yes, please!"

Moonwatcher's cheeks felt hot as Winter curled up beside her. The only thing he said was, "Good night."

Winter was an Icewing, so she got no warmth from him, but she still felt comforted by his presence. She noticed his tail was position funny, but she was too tired to think about it. _Hopefully some rest will ease off this pain, _she thought. Soon sleep washed over her.

****

**...**

A claw prodded her side, awaking Moonwatcher. She sat up blinking, and wondering if it was still day or night, but she had no way of telling.

"We should get going," Winter said.

"Oh, okay."

This time Moonwatcher led the way down the dim tunnels. They were much wider, big enough for her wings to stretch out some. The stone walls had holes in them, where lit torches still burned. Then she realized something.

"If these torches are still lit, it must mean Snowfall has been down here not long ago," but then she corrected herself, "Or someone else, maybe a Sandwing, Nightwing, Skywing, or possibly a Mudwing"

Winter passed her to study the nearest torch, his wings brushing hers in the process. She again noticed his tail was positioned away from her.

"It must have been a while ago," he observed, "These are getting short."

They advanced through the underground tunnels for what seemed to be an hour, torches lit throughout.

"Do these ever end?" Hailstorm asked from the rear, "I'm getting pretty hungry."

At the thought of food, Moon's belly growled in agreement.

They walked further along the path, until she saw an opening up ahead. Moonwatcher signaled with a flick of her tail for the others to stop. She peeked into the opening; It was a cavern much like the one she had slept in, but bigger with torches placed along the walls, and the floor was stone. The cavern had a small stream running through the middle of it, and there was no sign that anyone had been there.

"All clear," she reported.

Moonwatcher bent down at the edge of the stream and drank the clear, cool water. Her muscles and head felt better ever since she got some rest, but her talons were beginning to get sore from all the walking.

"Watersweet!" Winter exclaimed from the far corner of the cave. Moon turned her head to see Winter carefully uprooting some kind of gray plant.

"Watersweet is perfect for sore muscles and cuts," he explained, "They grow without sunlight… My mother is a medical dragon, she teaches me some of the stuff…" he trailed off.

_We might never see our families again,_ she realized. Moonwatcher went over to him and put her wing around him, but he shoved it away, looking embarrassed.

Winter laid the steam on the ground and began to mush it into a pulp.

After it was done, he gave some to Moonwatcher to rub herself with. She relaxed as it soaked into her skin. It had a minty kind of feel, making her tingle. While she was busy, Hailstorm drank from the stream and refilled his water pouch. In the corner of her eye, Moon saw Winter studying his tail. She looked at it, too, suspicious of why he had been strange about it.

She saw a huge blue gash across his tail; Icewing blood was blue, and the wound looked infected.

"Are you okay?" Moon exclaimed.

Winter looked up, then turned away, "It's nothing," He muttered.

Moon opened her mouth to speak, but a startled screech came from above her head. Looking up, she spotted a bat fluttering wildly.

"Hey, can we eat that?" Hailstorm asked.

In reply, Winter shot up and skillfully impaled the bat with a claw.

Upon closer inspection, the bat looked furry and plump. It was big enough to be a snack for one dragon, and only a nibble between three.

Hailstorm hurried over to them, his belly growling.

"That looks like a fruit bat! That means we can eat it," Moon pointed out.

"I've never eaten _bat_ before," Hailstorm commented.

The three ate their share, cooking it with the torches. Moon's stomach was unsatisfied with the meal.

"Wait. Fruit bats eat _fruit_. How can it have stayed alive down here?" Winter asked.

"Maybe there's a tunnel that leads to the surf-" Moonwatcher was cut off by the echoing sound of talon steps behind her. Whipping around, she met the glaring gaze of a huge male Nightwing emerging from the tunnel.

She took a step back, "W- who are you?" She stuttered.

The Nightwing did not reply, but reared up on his hind legs and opened his gaping jaws menacingly. Looking into his mouth, Moon saw a dim glow coming from his throat.

_He's about to blast me with fire!_ She realized, but her limbs would not move.

She was frozen with terror! Just then, quick as a flash, Winter darted in front of her as a freezing breath erupted from his mouth. Winter's frost-breath went straight into the dragon's mouth, blasting him backwards and freezing his mouth shut.

The Nightwing's eyes burned with fury as he stuck his jaws into a torch's flame, melting the ice that enclosed it. He let out an aggressive roar and charged towards Winter, who rolled out of the way.

Now the Nightwing was charging towards Moonwatcher, but she was ready for him. She bunched her muscles and leaped into the air. The huge dragon skirted to a stop beneath her as she landed on his back. She sank her teeth into his neck and dug her claws into his broad shoulders. The dragon tried to shake her off, but she held on.

Suddenly, he flipped over and rolled, crushing her. Out of breath, she tried to get up, but stumbled to the ground again. The huge Nightwing was on top of her, pinning her to the ground by the time she had recovered.

The dragon looked at her with triumph as he raised his talon for a killing blow. Moonwatcher screamed, and to her surprise, the weight lifted off her. She quickly retreated away. Winter had bitten the Nightwing's tail, and she saw Hailstorm with a torch in his gaws running towards him. _He's going to burn him! _Moon realized.

She summoned some fire of her own. Moon's throat warmed up and she aimed at the Nightwing, who was being savagely clawed by Winter. Hailstorm arrived at that moment, pressing the torch into the Nightwing's back. Moonwatcher's fire blasted through the air and scorched the Nightwing's face.

Roaring, he turned tail and scrambled out of the cavern through the opposite tunnel he had entered.

Relief flooding over her, she glanced at her friends. Winter only had a few scratches, and Hailstorm was untouched.

"I'm going to chase him off so he doesn't come back," Winter growled, turning away.

Moon turned to Hailstorm, who was putting the torch back into its socket.

"Who do you think that was? I wonder if he lives here," She said.

"I have a feeling we're going to find out. Perhaps he was that dragon who was telepathically talking with Snowfall…" he trailed off, a hint of curiosity in his sightless eyes, then said, "Was he a Nightwing? I know he was big."

Moon blinked in surprise, "Yes, he was a Nightwing," she answered, "How did you know?" She was careful not to offend him.

But Hailstorm just smiled, "I had a feeling. I guess I have to rely on my other senses more than others do."

They sat in silence for a few moments, thinking, until Moonwatcher said,

"Do you think that Nightwing was the dragon talking to Snowfall?"

"Maybe," Hailstorm replied, "I bet there are other dragons down here, too."

"Well, I think we should focus on getting out first," Moonwatcher said, "Who knows how deep we are?"

"If there was a fruit bat down here we're probably not too deep." Hailstorm pointed out.

Just then, Winter came rushing through the tunnel, "RUN!" he gasped, "HE HAS REINFORCEMENTS!"


	3. Chapter 3 - Prisoners

Moonwatcher raced through the tunnels once again, but soon realized with dismay that she could hear talonsteps not far behind her. If they were running from grown dragons, they wouldn't last long. She had to think of something.

There was nowhere to hide, and she knew that they couldn't fight so many enemies at once. Their chances were also slim if they tried to talk with the dragons, since they had already been attacked.

Moonwatcher risked a glance back, and saw something coming towards her. Only when she realized it was a talon, everything went black.

…

Moonwatcher's eyes fluttered open. She remembered being hit by someone… she felt no pain, but when she tried to look around, she couldn't see anything. Something was on her face, covering her eyes. When Moon tried to reach for it, though, she found that her talons were bound together.

But she could still talk. "Winter? Hailstorm? Hello..?" she asked the darkness.

"Moon? Wha- hey! Where are we?" Winter's voice replied in shock, "I'm blindfolded! And bound!"

"Me too," Moon said.

"Blindfolds? Guess that won't take effect.." mumbled Hailstorm to her left.

Moon could also hear voices on the far side of wherever they were. Judging by sound and scent, Moon guessed that they were in a large cave.

"Com'on, they're just dragonets...can't...blindfolds?"

Moon could only hear bits of the conversation, but it sounded like there were dragons arguing about them.

"Didn't you see…..? Bloodied!...he was strong…they are dangerous!"

"Fine,"

"Look, they're awake!"

Two sets of talonsteps rushed to them, and the next thing Moon knew, she could see.

"Hey! I told you they were dangerous!"

The dragon who had said that was a male Nightwing; a big one with a slightly ripped wing.

"And _I _told you that they're dragonets! Besides, they have ropes on."

Snapped a female Skywing. The Skywing had a golden tear-drop like earring hanging from one ear, while an hourglass necklace hung from her neck.

They _were_ in a large cave, much like the one with the stream through it. Moon realized that her front talons had ropes on that were connected to the side of the cave wall. Looking around, she saw her two Icewing companions with the same accessories, but their blindfolds were still on, (As well as their skyfire bracelets). Nothing else was in the cave besides them and the two grown dragons.

The Nightwing glared at Moon, "What is your name?" He demanded in a gruff and hostile tone.

A chill ran along her spine. Something told her this dragon was off.

"M-Moonwatcher," she replied. When the Skywing heard her stutter, she seemed to soften.

"Quit that, Nightshade," She said to the Nightwing. The Skywing leaned down to meet eyes with Moon, who was lying on the floor.

"Thats a nice name. Mine is Sunfire," Sunfire said.

"Oh, three moons! First you take off her blindfold, then you tell her our names! What's next?" Nightshade groaned.

Sunfire smirked at him and said, "This!" as she walked to Hailstorm and took off his blindfold.

While she was doing this, Nightshade kept growling, "Your going to be the one in trouble.."

At the same time, Moonwatcher pulled her tail around and slowly slid off her skyfire bracelet, so she could read their minds.

As soon as she did, she could hear only one mind. Sunfire's.

_How cute! They all have matching bracelets! Poor things must have only been exploring… I wish they hadn't found this place._

Puzzled, Moon looked over to Nightshade and found that he had a silver tailband on. Embedded in it, was Skyfire.

As Sunfire's thought rambled on about the dragonets and jewelry, she looked at Hailstorm's eyes.

"Oh! What happened to your eyes?" She yelped, startled by Hailstorm's foggy grey-blue eye color as he gazed at her sightlessly.

Winter growled, "Leave him alone. He can't see."

"O-oh.. sorry," Sunfire apologized.

She hesitated when she put her talons on Winter's blindfold.

_This one is snappy,_ the Skywing thought, _better not offend him._

"You," Nightshade suddenly growled, "What is with you?"

It took a moment for Moon to realize that Nightshade was talking to her. Looking up, he had a scowl on his face.

"Are you have'n some sort of headache?" he demanded.

"Um.. no,"

He grunted and turned back to Sinfire, who had backed away from Winter. Just then, and Icewing entered the room. But not just any Icewing- it was Snowfall.


	4. Chapter 4 - Snowfall

"Snowfall?" Winter exclaimed in shock.

Sunfire's mind was silent now, but Snowfall's was quite loud.

_What?! They followed me.. And the Nightwing is here, too! No wonder…_

Her thoughts were cut off as Snowfall's gaze landed on Moonwatcher.

_You can hear me, can't you?_ Snowfall thought, glaring at her.

"Hey, Snow. Do you need something?" Sunfire asked Snowfall.

"My name is Snow_fall,_ and yes," She replied, flicking her tail to Winter and Hailstorm, "I want to talk to these two. Leave the lizard here."

Sunfire shot a pitiful glance at Moon and nodded. Nightshade was silent as the Skywing unlocked the Icewing's restraints. Moon sensed Nightshade tense as Winter and Hailstorm got up and retreated with Snowfall into the next cave silently.

"Sorry about that," Sunfire said once they had gone, "Snowfall is snappy when it comes to Nightwings."

"I know," Moon replied.

Sunfire had a puzzled look on her face, "You know her?"

_Did Snowfall tell her anything? Probably not.. I hope not, _Sunfire thought fretfully.

"Well, we went to school together.. And those two Icewings are her brothers. She doesn't really like me, though." She said.

"I don't think Snowfall likes anyone, to be honest."

"Quit speaking to the prisoner," Nightshade hissed. In the silence that followed, Moonwatcher tried to hear into the other cave and listen to the Icewing sibling's conversation. But she couldn't hear their voices or their minds. Meanwhile, Sunfire's brain kept buzzing on about how pitiful it was that Moon and her friends had fallen into the animus tunnels.

_Wait, did I just hear "Animus tunnels?"_

_Is this underground maze Animus-touched?_

Moon had heard stories about animus dragons. They were born with the great power of magic, and could put spells on _anything_\- even dragons. The only downside to their power was that the more they used it, the more evil corrupted their souls. She shivered when she recalled one particular Seawing animus named Albatross who had used his gift too much. He had finally snapped and went mad, and it had resulted in the Seawing massacre, wiping out more than half the tribe and killing two Skywings long ago. Forcing herself away from the thoughts, Moon turned her mind on Sunfire's.

_Those poor dragonets don't even know what they've gotten themselves into. If they find out too much, Wildberry might.._ Her thoughts trailed off, then restarted.

_No, if I can just get them out of here, everything will be fine. As long as Shaded isn't that mad…_ Sunfire glanced at Moon, _Or maybe Wildberry's decision is for the best.. These three dragonets really put up a fight against Shaded._ Moon felt a prick of fear from the Skywing.

"What are you _doing_?" Nightshade suddenly snapped.

Moonwatcher jumped and looked up at him. The Nightwing had a suspicious scowl on his face again.

"Just thinking," She replied, hoping her lie sounded believable. Moon's heart fell when he snorted in skepticism.

"Don't-" Sunfire cut him off.

"So now _you _get to 'talk to the prisoner?" She demanded.

"I'm getting information!" Nightshade growled.

"Sure you are," She retorted, rolling her eyes.

The two stared at each other for a moment, then Nightshade hissed and stomped out of the cave, calling, "I am DONE with you!"

Sunfire snorted, thinking _Good thing, too!_

**A/N: This chapter was cut off, but there's news in chapter Five.**


	5. Dear readers

Okay, I know haven't updated this story in so long.. and I have sad news.

I would really like to thank everyone for reading this thus far, but there are some thing I have to tell you:

1) I'm not going to continue this story, **if you would like to know what I was planning on happening, look below.**

2) I am dropping this story for a few reasons- I am very busy with school and social life, and I wrote this story when I was 10 years old, so its very old and I have lost nearly all of my motivation.

3) I'm busy working on a different story dedicated to my friends, (which i'm not really planning on posting, but if you want to see it I can post it).

4) I am really, _really _sorry about this. I know a lot of you wanted this story to continue, despite all the problems with it.

**WHAT I WAS PLANNING TO WRITE:**

After Moon, Winter, and Hailstorm were captured, they were brought to a Rainwing named 'Wild berry', who is the leader of the underground dragons. He explains to the three dragonets that they had trespassed into a very, very secret place.

Wild berry decides that the dragonets will remain captive until his 'plan' comes into action.

While being captive, however, Moon, Winter, and Hailstorm get bits of information out of the dragons guarding them. They collect that all the dragons underground are planning a sort of world domination, and that they had an animus on their side. This animus is none other than Snowfall, who agreed to help them in return for power.

Once his plan is ready, Wild berry frees the dragonets. Winter, Moon, and Hailstorm make it back home in time to warn everyone, but no one believes them. (As Wild berry had guessed). Literally one day after they make it home, Wild berry and his army attack everyone and his plan succeeds.

However, Moon escapes. She hides on an island in the kingdom of sea and stays there for a few years.

After time has passed she is meet with more and more dragons seeking shelter from Wild berry's rule. She takes them in, and basically starts a rebellion.

Long story short, she finds Winter and Hailstorm and overthrows Wild berry.

The end..


End file.
